The House of Common’s Science and Technology Committee at last declared that there was no evidence in the Health and Safety legislations to prevent Science related field trips in schools. This statement issued by the Government recently was appreciated by all including several Ministers, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH courses) and of course the schools.
Several Ministers responded to the recommendations of the Science and Technology committee’s report ‘Practical Experiments in School Science Lessons and Science Field Trips’, saying that field trips were important to understanding of science and in science education.
The Government further supported the field activities by stating that it would tie-up with the technical institutes like the Institute of Physics, The Royal Society of Chemistry and the Royal Society of Biology to use their know-how in making changes to curriculum as well as getting teachers qualified and in the know of advancing technologies.
Furthermore, the Government would also look into other Health and Safety legislations to make sure they are not misunderstood and come in the way of school activities and if they do, such regulations must be counterbalanced!
Mr. Richard Jones, the Head of Policy and Public Affairs at IOSH stated his pleasure at the announcement that field trips could be allowed; saying that practical learning in science education was a must. He was also happy to learn of the Government’s intention to work with professional institutions to provide updated curricula to schools both for teachers’ professional development and students’ learning! He felt the proposals of the Government would now provide a systematically lesson structure, planned with practical trips to make the learning experience more of an impact.